“I love history, especially the French and Russian revolutions, seeing how people struggled through everyday life really puts my life into perspective.” Max Hurd

occupation: student, model

Max lives in Nottinghill, which is my favorite neighborhood in London for its classic English pubs, and, most of all, Portobello Road, a flea market that surpasses all I have ever seen and possibly the only thing that derailed our hectic shooting schedule. One of things that makes Nottinghill so appealing is the juxtaposition of the eclectic, heavenly madness of the blocks and blocks of state of the art vintage, juxtaposed with the “Mary Poppins- like” charming tree-lined streets with neoclassical, ultra aristocratic homes in varying shades of pastels. I remember looking out of the window in the back of Max’s house and admiring the very romantic Thomas Gainsborough gardens and willowy trees. It takes this kind of odd tension between the idyllic and diverse that describes London and gives birth to someone like Max whose face and hair are very British, but whose interests are worldy. I can see him in Harry Potter no problem, but instead, Mario Testino scouted him for an almost equivalent quintessential English role in the Burberry ad campaigns. In them, he pretty much plays himself in edgy classics like black leather motorcycle jackets and boots, pea coats and tux attire made street. Max makes pullovers (or rompers as he calls them) alluring, in that Dead Poet’s Society meets wild romantic (with his long bushy hair) kind of way. In addition, there is nothing that beats a signet ring, especially when it is actually a hand me down of a family crest, like the one his father gave him (I bought one at the Portobello market and haven’t taken it off in three months). “Smart” is what he calls his style, which he has matured into, after his “frumpy tramp” phase. Smart also describes Max’s lifestyle, which will be filled with lots of studying, specifically Latin American Studies. Max loved cat walking for Commes des Garcon, but Manchester University is his calling.

If you like Max you may also like, Milton Pusey and Nick Fouquet.

“It was amazing that I was the only African American male used for the 2009 September issue of I.D. Magazine. The entire issue was dedicated to Michael Jackson because he had just passed away. They used his song titles, and mine was “Black or White”. It fit me perfectly.” Shaun Ross

occupation: model

I think I will go with my favorite line that has been thrown at Shaun and try to pretend that the others were not said, which is, “oh my god he is everything!” Though he has had to suffer immensely for having Albinism, yet another sad embarrassement of the ignorance and fear of the egos of mankind, he, and others of any monority are here to bring us face to face with our ignorance and thus, evoke reactions that offer up some wisdom and give hope for some evolution of thinking, like this one. I have a personal identification with Shaun’s immunity to how people stare at him, because I have a gay son, who doesn’t see the homophobic glares coming at him from everywhere, but I do (let’s just say, he is my teacher in how he rises above, like Shaun does.) Shaun has a very supportive mom, “my mother always kept me going.” I looove how Shaun makes his rare and very defining characteristics a look that can only be his own. He is the antidote to the all too common bland homogeneity, with his Warhol shades, uber minimal use of black and clean lines and the touches of haute hip hop, like his RAD Chris Habana hat. With the way Shaun embraces his differences, he opens eyes and elevates consciousness.

If you like Shaun, you may also like Antino Crowley and Sah D’Simone.

“During Fashion Week, I walked in eight shows. They have a lot of flash – bam, bam, bam! When I walk on the runway, they all take pictures of me and I pose. I hear the sound, and it makes me so happy.” Noma Han

occupation: model

South Korea, where he grew up and “things are quiet,” was definitely not going to be a good fit for someone like Noma, who can barely contain his enthusiasm for everything. To call him passionate is an understatement, but he is, in the lightest and no less meaningful sense of the word. Noma came to New York on his own, barely speaking the language, and among many successes, is presently in the Benetton Ad Campaigns. He inhales the “bright lights” of the big cities, of which he has a lot of exposure of due to his modeling career, but humor with it all is never far behind. Noma loves what he refers to as “British style,” in his foulard suspenders, rolled jeans, Doc Martens, and bowler, but he equally jumps for joy in his skateboard-inspired, glow-in-the-dark Inventory sweatshirt. In addition to skateboarding in his spare time, he watches folkloric action cartoons like Wampus, whose skin stretches like rubber and draws his own Lampoon-like renderings for tattoos on his body. So refreshingly unencumbered by what other people think of him, Noma makes fashion fun and happy, as it should be. He can’t help but pull his Prince Peter t-shirt of the performance artist Lindsay Kemp over his face, and by doing so, he says something very profound without even trying: in the words of William Shakespeare, “all the world’s a stage.”

If you like Noma, you might also enjoy Nick Cohen or Shayne Oliver.

“I think I got my individual spirit from my father. He used to wear fur coats. He sprayed his army boots with white paint, and he would wear a pearl earring.” Stef Van Der Laan

occupation: model

Stef says that when she puts on something happy, she is happy. It’s hard not to smile when you see her tutu from the H&M children’s department juxtaposed against an army parka and white “cloggy” wedge sandals, or in her knee socks with a thrifted floral 1930s dress and lace-up combat boots. Stef says that her ADHD leaves her dreamy, thinking a lot, and in her own world. When people-watching on the street or train, she can make up a whole story about their life, “even if it’s not true.” It seems fitting that Stef has the creative mind to tell her own story with her wardrobe. She has many unique pieces from her Dutch grandmother’s “eccentric” clothing store in their hometown, like an embroidered cloth belt and Moroccan poison ring. And then there are the storybook charms around her neck, a very little Bible with her boyfriend’s phone number in it, a shell from her best friend that is from Sydney, and the key to her parent’s home (so that it is always close to her). Dressed in a petticoat and designer plaid hunting booties, she has the grace of Tinkerbell, but with some urban toughness mixed in. Stef’s favoite chanel is Disney and she loves to laugh when prompted by the laughing machine on TV shows. But most charming of all to me is the vision of her failed efforts while working as a waitress in a pizza restaurant. More suitable for a part as the Mad Hatter, she “was standing with a cup of tea all the time, kind of dreamy. All of the other waitresses would be at their tables already, doing their jobs. The day manager would have to say to me, ‘Just walk around and pretend you’re doing something.’” Seems like Stef should definitely stick to fashion editorials, where she can do what she does so well, interpreting the mood of clothes.

If you like Stef, you might also enjoy Euphraise, Ashley Shaw, or Rachel Ballinger.

“Fashion is, by design, mood-depending, and energy-altering. That is my favorite thing about it.” Lesa Amoore

occupation: creative director, consultant, stylist, and photographer

Lesa is a mom with a successful modeling career under her belt, including Vogue covers, world travels, and that “less is more” style that comes from experience. When you’ve been around enough of the new season’s runway boots, you develop an eye for the eternally perfect ones that take you everywhere and go with everything, like her buttery leather Margiela ones that have a nail for a heel. As she says, “they are just rock and roll enough, without being over-the-top or losing any classic perks.” It’s hard to deny their classic, edgy power when worn with anything from a clean black dress to leggings to jeans. Lesa’s penchant for the understated brought on an interesting dilemma when iconic hairdresser Oribe convinced her to play with the color of her natural blonde locks. She discovered that when she was a redhead and dressed just a hint provocatively in garders and stockings, she would attract just the right kind of guy. However, as a platinum blonde in a similarly suggestive outfit, all of the “wrong” heads turned in the room. When Lesa gets a little frilly, it’s a state-of-the-art Martine Sitbon vintage blouse – the designer herself, like Lesa, is minimal and modern.

If you like Lesa, you might also enjoy Camille Rushanaedy or Celia Ingesson.

On writing Do or Die: “It woke me up in a lot of ways. Consciousness begins to uncoil and the antennae begin to pulse, because you’re seeing things you’re not used to. I wasn’t that far from having been a model, where all you had to bring were your cheekbones. Suddenly, how I looked didn’t matter.” Leon Bing

occupation: author

I love how Leon says, without an ounce of pretension (after a career as a muse for the legendary designer Rudi Gernreich), that she was never trendy. She arrived in New York City to model in jeans and left in jeans. I “found” Leon in jeans when I came to her home in Pasadena do this feature. I discovered Leon when I read a review of Swans and Pistols in the Style section of the New York Times (that captures, among many things, her successful stint as a ’60s catwalker). Ironically, tracking her down was miraculously effortless. Soon after I saw her book review, I interviewed a fellow model/muse to Rudi, Barbara Flood, and there was my entre to Leon. Leon’s mother was actually the glamourous clothes horse and Leon was the one with the body to wear clothes, but was never big on the consumption of them. Her style is as much about her natural beauty and bone structure as it is about her brain cells. Anything looks good on her, including her photographer boyfriend Gareth Seigel, whom she adoringly refers to as “The Mister” – he is much her junior, and taught her “the meaning of unconditional love.” (She is writing a piece for Vogue on the “gestalt” of their relationship.) Leon left the galaxy of modeling for her current, beyond-passionate writing career – she recently penned an in-depth and first-hand insight into the culture of gangs in the inner cities. She is proof of what a prophet Mr. Gernreich was when he grabbed Leon’s looks for the runway because she “resembled a spy.” Not only has Leon helped to create a look for a time but a social conscience. After reading an article about two black youths shot dead, Leon thought to herself, “this would be on the front page if they were white.” She infiltrated downtown Los Angeles, started to ask questions, invested herself in these youths’ lives, and ended up writing a best-seller. Leon’s Tibetian necklace is one-of-a-kind, as she herself is.

If you like Leon, you may also enjoy Barbara Louis, Lucie Porges, or Reece Solomon.

“If I walk down the street in jeans and a plain t-shirt, I don’t feel like the world sees me as I want to be seen or as what I am.” Rachel Trachtenburg

occupation: singer, model, musician, actress, student, and activist

Rachel is extraordinary for sixteen. She is a powerhouse personality, with tons of creative talent and drive – think Wednesday Addams’ precocious smarts mixed with Rainbow Bright’s kaleidoscopic color sense and the 1970s earthy vibe of one of her idols, Joni Mitchell. Rachel has been nurtured to be herself, and her freedom of expression creatively and intellectually is abundant. She has been playing the drums in her family’s traveling band since she was six, and I don’t think there are many her age with a handmade Syd Barrett hair clip (her favorite Pink Floyd member) and without a Facebook profile until this year (for work purposes only). Rachel has insight beyond her years, including a knack for converting every piece of clothing into something else, like the shirt that she sewed cuffs onto, ice skates that she made into shoes by sawing off the blades, and hair bows made from recycled plastic candy bags (the kind that chocolate chips and Hershey’s Kisses come in). Rachel attributes homeschooling to her voracious appetite for learning, with interests that range from a deep knowledge of classic rock (Led Zeppelin is her favorite band), judicial history, and open mic night at The Bowery Poetry Club. Being bored is not an option for Rachel – “even if I were sitting in a blank room, I would come up with a song in my head.” Rachel writes songs for her own teen band, Supercute!, many of which have messages about society, and a range of musical beats that are unusual for her age group. In one song, she sings about someone with an average desk job waking up from a Candy Land-filled dream, all sung to the tune of “psychedelic, pretty, fun ’60s pop.” Along the lines of thinking outside of the box, she is an advocate for NYC’s rats and pigeons (she makes hair clips out of pigeon feathers, too), whom she believes are undervalued for their contributions to the city, (rats clean up some of the filth in the subway and pigeons, admirably, mate for life). Wearing a children’s dress from Goodwill and without a pair of skinny jeans in sight, Rachel Trachtenburg is as authentic as they come, a fresh young voice worth paying full attention to.

If you like Rachel, you might also enjoy Natasha Ghosn and Athena Stuebe.

“[The first time I saw myself as a model was when] my friends woke me up at four in the morning and took me to Times Square. I saw the Banana Republic billboard that I shot with Bruce Weber. There was just a picture of my face, and underneath, it said ‘American Beauty.’ It still makes me have the chills. Never in my life did I think that I was beautiful.” Jenny Shimizu

“I love all things Asian. I am completely in awe of how Asian men and women (specifically Japanese) push the boundaries of fashion, style, and personal expression.” Susi Kenna

Jenny’s occupation: agent, ex-model, revolutionary. Susi’s occupation: communications consultant to creative people

Jenny and Susi are a poster couple for the twenty-first century and the joy of living in your truth. Jenny, without an ounce of hesitation, tells all about entering into a modeling career in the mid-1990s – “I’m Japanese, 5’7″, a dyke, tattooed, have little hair, and I don’t wear feminine clothes…no one like me had paved the way.” Jenny has always known she was here for a reason, and though she wasn’t always able to see why, she has said yes to almost everything (“I want my journey of life to be full”). Her story from six-years-old, where she, enraged, would put a chair against her door in objection to being forced to wear a dress to church, to seeing herself on a billboard in Times Square (shot by Bruce Weber) entitled “American Beauty” will give you the chills for its ability to empower (“never in my life did I think I was beautiful”). Jenny is so self-aware that as a young girl, she only dressed in “Billy The Kid-wear,” and today, anything other than her uniform of mostly t-shirts, jeans, brogues and fedoras is uncomfortable – even a button-down shirt feels “too nice.” Jenny’s confidence has shaped history, not only in what’s considered beautiful, but also fashionable. Jenny’s woman on a wrench tattoo became legend in the 1990s when Jean Paul Gaultier tore the sleeve off of one of his dresses when she walked his runway show so that it would show.
Susi, the anithesis of her home state of Florida (she says), with her long dark hair, pale skin and red lips, was always in her room painting while everyone else was surfing. She has remained passionate about art, and bought her first painting on impulse when she wandered out of a party and into a dark hallway and saw it on a wall (she fell immediately in love with it and the artist). Unusual for someone with a background in fine arts, Susi is a Renaissance woman, having also studied digital and graphic design, economics, business and project management, ethics, and law. The daughter of inventors, she is both “nerdy” in her love of statistics and visually talented, exemplified stylistically by her circular glasses and abundant collection of high heels.The combination makes her a force of nature in her ability to manage what can be the chaos of creative people’s businesses. Don’t let her artsy image in a floral dress and leopard ankle boots fool you – one of Susi’s goals is to make the Forbes list of the Top Power Women to Follow on Twitter.
Jenny says, “I really believe we balance each other out well,” she in her Paul Smith wing tips, Susi in her YSL clog wedges, neither in each other’s closets, but fully in each other’s hearts.

If you like Jenny and Susi, you might also enjoy Zamari Graham-Smith, Jen Chia, and Jenny Hirshowitz.

occupation: blogger, designer, and model

“I’ve always gone against the grain. I haven’t figured out why yet, but there’s a reason…I was never popular in school, and I was always doing something off the wall…I’m here to make known the unknown, and that’s what’s important to me.” Krystal Simpson

Krystal started her blog because she didn’t want to work for anyone else – “I’m completely self-made. I hate the middle man. I don’t want to have to go through somebody else for them to say okay or not okay. If I want to put it out, I’ll put it out.” Amen, especially when the middle man has become an epidemic of pandering to the lowest common denominator. Let’s see, the cover of an unnamed fashion magazine with a super model grinning a wooden smile in clothes that she feels no affinity for, with cover lines that say “Shape up for Spring” (oy vey, haven’t we heard this before)? Or Krystal, in her newly coveted Bess studded kimono that she loves so much that she sleeps in it, and with so much to say about why we get stuck in life and how to get to the bottom of your core repetitive reactions to things, that any dose of her is like a huge injection of seratonin? It would be hard not to be chic as hell (in that ’60s/’70s rebel kind of way) when your mom was single, fiercely independent, and never lost the sense of her roots of hanging out with the Kinks and Hunter S. Thompson and attended the Monterey Pop and Altamont music festivals. I love her adoration for the Stones’ girlfriends as much as the Stones’ and it is haaaard not to mention the Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg comparisons. I don’t think you can ever get enough of those most meaningful of style idols anyway and especially when it is channeled so seamlessly through Krystal’s free spirit. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that when I was magnetically drawn to her glowing energy at Bryant part in some perfection of high waisted pants, denim shirt, neck scarf, and her signature red lipstick (because she doesn’t wear any other makeup) that I had come across a gem. And it doesn’t get much better than digging into her immeasurable style and story and being left with the thought that “Nothing comes to you in physical reality that you didn’t first comtemplate,” or would you rather “My Three Facelifts: A Twenty-Year Nip and Tuck Diary.”

If you like Krystal, you might also enjoy Chase Cohl, Byrdie Bell, or Philippa Price.

occupation: aspiring singer and model

“I get inspired by people who dare to take steps, even if they have nobody to hold their backs. I love people who are not afraid to do what they want to do. I love it if you believe in yourself.” Rinat Welsing

Rinat grew up in Germany – his mother is Russian and his father is Ghanean. For me, he is a kind of embodiment of every man, a world of the United Colors of Bennetton ad campaign come true. Rinat is mature enough in life’s experiences to spew the kind of wisdom that stops me in my tracks in its truth and sincerity (“my influence is in my mind, my influence is me”), and young enough in spirit that he can make a snowman cardigan that cost him $3 look like the newest at Barney’s Co-Op. Rinat’s huge dimpled smile, un-self-consious manner, and coming-together of worldly good looks and style are luminous when compared to the more typical, close-to-the-cuff urban demeanor (he would never wear sunglasses unless he needed them – he loves people’s eyes). When Rinat arrived in the Big Apple after finishing his civil service at home (as a dishwasher, because he says he could never carry a gun), he knew no one. However, the influence of his father’s home country and its accepting nature (when you pass women on the street, they are referred to as “mother”) brought him to fashion-related events and shows all over town with an air of innocence as if he belonged forever (oops, hopefully no fashion PR companies are reading this) and he for me, was a welcome breath of fresh air. I first became riveted by his Simpsons-meets-afro trademark hair when he was modeling in Michael Calloway’s fashion show, having no idea that Michael had discovered him at our launch party. Then there he was, in some captivating variation of a perfectly gigantic Kente cloth scarf, sweatpants rolled into knickers, an old woman’s oversized red coat, neon orange skinny jeans, and possibly his chain handbag strap as necklace at our holiday party and many, if not all, of fashion week’s shows and events. Rinat defines the word original – he gets the combinations of multi-references so right. If his music is anything like the scope of clothes and accessories that I walked into when I arrived to interview him in the middle of a Nor’easter, then we are in for a party of some universal proportions.

If you like Rinat, you might also enjoy Haley Wollens and Kukso Koo.